Councillor Pressley & Partners "Raise your Voice Summit" 4/26/14

Councilor Ayanna Pressley partners with area organizations to hold 2nd annual Empowerment Day on Sexual Violence April 26, 2014 also known as the "Raise your Voice Summit." This year’s summit includes more workshops and expanded focus to include topics specific to men, LGBTQ survivors, high school and middle school aged students, and service providers. The event has also doubled the number of partners from 2013. The event is free though some workshops are excluded for the press.

WHAT

2nd Annual Raise Your Voice
Day of Empowerment Summit for Survivors and Allies

Councillor Ayanna Pressley’s Raise Your Voice Summit will take place on April 26th from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM at Northeastern University, Cabral Center, John D. O’Bryant African American Institute, 40 Leon Street. This event is free and open to the public (pre-registration is required). There are workshops for girls, boys, men, women and LGBTQ residents ages 8 and up.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, a nationally recognized movement to honor survivors of sexual violence through community action. Sexual violence is an issue that touches every community, every racial/ethnic group, every income bracket, every gender, sexual orientation, education level, and faith, so this year Pressley and partners are offering more interactive workshops and expanding focus to include topics specific to men, LGBTQ survivors, high school and middle school aged students, and service providers.[UMass Boston]

But it all begins with a willingness to have an uncomfortable conversation,” Pressley said. I’ve never known statistics to move the needle, but I know stories can and do. I commend my fellow survivors for sharing theirs and know on April 26th we’ll all leave that space changed, with a renewed commitment to raise our voice to end sexual violence.”

Summit Partners

At-Large Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley

Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC)

Boston Police Department (BPD)

Casa Myrna, and Girls’ LEAP

Fenway Health Violence Recovery Program

Hollaback! Boston

Northeastern University Center for the Study of Sport in Society

My Life My Choice

A special thanks to the Boston Public Health Commission’s Start Strong Program for holding the 2nd annual “Raise Your Voice, Day of Empowerment Summit for Survivors of Sexual Violence and our Allies.”

Last fall, following a number of high-profile and in some cases multiple sexual assaults in several neighborhoods of Boston, several residents and organizations called Pressley and asked for resources and how they could help stem the tide of sexual violence. Raise Your Voice was the outcome.

Facts:

The conversation must continue because for every case that receives media attention there are thousands more in which survivors remain unseen and unheard by the broader community.

In 2013, BARCC advocates met 392 survivors, in Boston hospitals, who had been recently assaulted.

The 2011 Boston Youth Risk Behavior Survey (most recent available) found that 12.6% of Boston high school students report being physically forced to have sexual intercourse (15.8% of girls and 9.2% of boys).